Eugine_Nier comments on No Universally Compelling Arguments in Math or Science - Less Wrong

30 Post author: ChrisHallquist 05 November 2013 03:32AM

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Comment author: jaime2000 05 November 2013 04:37:05PM *  17 points [-]

It seems obvious that people are using "universally compelling arguments" in two different senses.

In the first sense, a universally compelling argument is one that could convince even a rock, or a mind that doesn't implement modus ponens, or a mind with anti-inductive priors. In this sense, the lack of universally compelling arguments for any domain (math/physics/morality) seems sufficiently well established.

In another sense, a universally compelling argument is one that could persuade any sufficiently sane/intelligent mind. I think we can agree that all such minds will eventually conclude that relativity and quantum mechanics are correct (or at least a rough approximation to whatever the true laws of physics end up being), so in this sense we can call the arguments that lead to them universally compelling. Likewise, in this sense, we can note as interesting the non-existence of universally compelling arguments which could compel a sufficiently sane/intelligent paperclipper to value life, beauty, justice, and the American way. It becomes more interesting if we also consider the case of babyeaters, pebblesorters, or humans with values sufficiently different to our own.

You are using the term in the first sense, but the people who are bothered by it are using it in the second sense.